Herbed Spinach and Artichoke Pull Apart Pretzel Bread.

Cheesy, herby, spinach and artichoke pull apart pretzel bread. Two words…The Best! Soft, buttery, and salty pretzel dough, layered with cheesy spinach and artichoke dip, baked in the oven, and served warm. Serve this at your next party, perfect for game day, or just as an easy appetizer. Either way, everyone will thank you.

Hello and happy Tuesday (that feels like a Monday). I hope you all had a fun, but relaxing long weekend, and are left feeling re-energized and ready to face the remainder of the week. The days following Labor Day are always so exciting to me. I love that there’s a new crispness in the air, excitement for fall foods, Sunday night football, talk of Halloween, and yes even the impending holiday season. I know some of this may seem a little premature, but just admit it, you are totally thinking the same!

It’s always sad to say goodbye to carefree summer days, but there’s something I love so much about this time of year. My food cravings slightly shift, and I begin to think more along the lines of slow cooker dinners, apple desserts, and game day recipes. With football season officially starting back up this week, I thought it would be fun to share a new recipe that’s perfect for entertaining and happily munching your way through the game with family and friends.

Enter this addictingly good herbed spinach and artichoke pull apart pretzel bread. Really all I have to say is this, if you try one new thing this month, it needs to be this cheesy pull apart bread, it is the BEST.

{dough cut into squares before being stacked}

{dough squares stacked into 4 stacks}

I made this bread on a whim last week, unsure of how it was going to turn out. But about five minutes into making the spinach and artichoke filling, I knew this bread was going to be good.

Let me break it down for you. Softy, buttery, and salty homemade pretzel dough, layered with a three cheese spinach and artichoke filling, baked, and serve warm.

It’s like spinach and artichoke dip with soft pretzels, but better because they’re baked together to create one incredibly delicious bread. I mean, it’s honestly too good.

Here are the details.

Start with the homemade pretzel dough. This is simple. You just need your basic bread dough ingredients plus a coarse salt. I love using this pretzel salt (order it guys, it’s good), but sea salt works in a pinch too. The key to soft pretzel dough is a little bit of butter in the dough. It makes the dough really easy to work with, keeps it flavorful, and well, extra soft!

For the filling, I did a simple version of spinach and artichoke dip with mascarpone cheese, fontina cheese, and parmesan. I seasoned it with fresh thyme, garlic, and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. I love the addition of the thyme here. Not going to lie, I can find spinach and artichoke dip to be more on the boring side, but the simple addition of a fresh herbs, like thyme, takes it to something special.

When the dough is ready, you’ll roll out into a rectangle, spread with the spinach and artichoke filling, and then cut the dough into squares. Stack the squares (see my photos for visuals so you are not totally confused when making this, promise it’s really easy, just hard to explain) and then layer them in a bread pan.

Let the bread rise one more time, then bake, and EAT.

You have to eat this warm, right out of the oven it’s the only way to serve it. If you’d like to prepare the bread ahead of time, you can assemble it in full, cover and place the bread in the fridge until you are ready to bake. Then just pull the bread dough out of the fridge while the oven preheats and bake as directed.

My recommendation? Test out this bread tonight, enjoy it for dinner, maybe alongside this soup, and start to welcome the beginning of cozy food season. Sounds perfect!

Also, you should know that as I type this it could not feel more like fall here. It’s a little after 9pm and I can feel the chill in the air outside (because my I have old barn doors and there is a serious draft). I’m typing this post up huddled by my oven and just like that I am back in my coziest spot, and it feels like fall again. All I need now is my favorite candle.

I realize most of you are still experiencing hot temperatures, but around here the weather is shifting. It’s cozy food weather and I am so into it.

Next cookbook I write should be, Half Baked Harvest the coziest recipes…

What do you think?!

If you make this spinach and artichoke pull apart bread, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Herbed Spinach and Artichoke Pull Apart Pretzel Bread

Soft, buttery, and salty pretzel dough, layered with cheesy spinach and artichoke dip, baked in the oven, and served warm. Serve this at your next party, perfect for game day, or just as an easy appetizer.

Prep Time20minutes

Cook Time45minutes

Total Time1hour5minutes

Servings08-10

Calories314kcal

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

1 1/2cupswarm water

2 1/2teaspoonsinstant yeast

1tablespoonhoney

3 1/2-4cupsall-purpose flour

1teaspoonkosher salt

4tablespoonsbutter, melted

coarse pretzel salt or sea salt, for sprinkling

Spinach and Artichoke Filling

4ouncesmascarpone cheese

1/2cupshredded fontina cheese

1/2cupgrated parmesan cheese

1clovegarlic, minced or grated

1tablespoonfresh thyme leaves

1pinchcrushed red pepper flakes

1/2cupfrozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of excess water

1 jar (6-8 ounces)marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Instructions

1. to make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, 3 1/2 cups flour, salt, and butter. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. if the dough feels too sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.

2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, fontina, parmesan, garlic, thyme, and a pinch of crushed red pepper and salt. Stir in the spinach and artichokes.

4. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.

5. When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Evenly spread the dough with the filling. Cut the rectangle into about 16 equal squares. Stack the squares into 4x4 stacks (see above photo) and then arrange the squares vertically in the prepared loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes, until puffy. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Brush the top of the bread with water and sprinkle with coarse salt. Transfer the bread to the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bread is cooked through. Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Carefully lift the dough out of the pan and transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm. Enjoy.

Tieghan, this looks AMAZING! Definitely a fun weekend appetizer which I will be putting on my to-do list. (Right now I am at the office, sneak-peaking the HBH site, and already planning my w/e. Shhh.) 😉

I very much like the sound of a “Coziest Recipes” book! Ooooh…you know what other cookbook I would go nuts over and order immediately? “Half Baked Harvest Holidays” – all your best holiday recipes and cocktails…with all your glorious pictures. Let me know if you need a food taster/cocktail mixer…eh…and cocktail taster for future books. 😀

HI! Saldly, I can’t recommend swaps as this recipe uses a lot of dairy. SO SORRY. Really with I could help! If you wanted to try, you could use vegan butter and omit the cheeses all together, but not sure how this will taste. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks so much! xTieghan.

I have not tested this with gluten free flour so I cannot say for sure how it would turn out. I would think it would be OK, but again, I can’t say for sure. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

Another deliciously addictive recipe & loving everything spinach and artichoke! One quick question- the top of my loaf was a little too airy and crunchy. Could it be that I let the dough rise too long Tieghan? Just checking…❤️ Not to worry, I couldn’t stop enjoying this, so wonderful while still warm from the oven, and the fresh thyme definitely made the filling mix ‘pop’! Yummmmmmmmm!😋

HI Gia! Hmm, too light? How long did you let the bread rise before baking? If it was too crunchy, try covering the top during the last 15 minutes of cooking. I think that would help. Please let me know if you have any other questions. so glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

HI! Yes, you can hand mix, just make sure to really mix the dough until it forms a smooth ball. To use regular yeast, dissolve the yeast in the water and honey and let it sit 10 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

Tieghan – I made this on Friday night and it was absolutely delicious! Everyone loved it. However, it was too much dough for my 9×5 pan (some of the dough fell out of the pan in the oven). I felt like I probably could have filled two pans with my 4×4 stacks of dough. The loaf in your picture looks longer than mine was. By chance are you using a longer pan and if so, what size?

HI! Mine is a 9×5 inch pan. Where do you live? sometimes the climate can affect the dough and can allow the dough to rise more while baking. If you think you can fit the dough into 2 pans, give that a try. I am sure it will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. so glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

This recipe looks amazing as usual! I wanted to make this a couple days ahead of time, should I leave it in the fridge or leave it in the freezer and move it to the fridge the night before? I’ve made your flaky pull-apart dinner rolls and the freezer method worked great.

HI! I think you can just leave the bread in the fridge, anything up to 3-4 days in the fridge should be just fine! That said, you can certainly use the freezer method too! Whatever is easier for you. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan 🎄

I made this for a New Years party and it was a huge hit! I will definitely be making again! Also I made a little extra filling for the bread but honestly I don’t think it was necessary- the bread itself has such a nice flavor.

Meet Tieghan Gerard.

I’m Tieghan, the recipes you’ll find here are inspired by the people and places I love most. I try to live simply, eat seasonally, and cook with whole foods. My hope is to inspire a love for amazing food, as well as the courage to try something new!